Taking you back to the sights, sounds, and the people of the 20th Century

20th Century Album of the Day

Today in 1973 the UK No 1 Album was Aladdin Sane by David Bowie

Aladdin Sane is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on April 13, 1973. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album he wrote and released from a position of stardom.

NME called the album “oddly unsatisfying, considerably less than the sum of the parts”, while Bowie encyclopedist Nicholas Pegg describes it as “one of the most urgent, compelling and essential” of his releases. The Rolling Stone review pronounced it “less manic than The Man Who Sold The World, and less intimate than Hunky Dory, with none of its attacks of self-doubt.” The album cover featuring a lightning bolt across his face is regarded as one of Bowie’s most iconic images.

Aladdin Sane was the UK’s No 1 album for five weeks from May 5, 1973, and has become a Gold seller.